Entertainment

Brandon Knight's Epic NBA Posterization Fuels Internet Glee

Let's get one thing straight: Brandon Knight did the right thing. He made the right play, the hard-working play, the courageous play, and there are plenty of other image-conscious NBA players who never would have stepped in there the way he did.

But, that being said — daaaaaaaaaaaaamn.

If you didn't catch the highlight last night and need to get up to speed, here's what happened: Knight's Detroit Pistons were taking on the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday evening. The Clippers — known to sports fans as "Lob City" for their propensity for high-flying alley-oops — ran a lob play for center DeAndre Jordan, who came steaming down the lane with all of his 6-feet-11 inches and 265 pounds hurtling toward the rim. The lob went up. Jordan went up. Knight — who stands 6-foot-3 and weights 189 pounds - went up. The two collided in mid air and Knight went down. Hard. Then the ball bounced off his head.

Words cannot really do a play of such epic viciousness and wanton disregard for human life proper justice, however, so you should just watch the YouTube video embedded above several times. (Pro tip: Pay special attention to the gleeful reaction of the four kids seated courtside.)

The dunk, unsurprisingly, blew up the basketball Twitters, with both Jordan and Knight's names trending worldwide (Knight's name was trending again Monday morning). But it didn't stop there. Someone edited Knight's Wikipedia page to read that he in fact died in the game. Cause of death? DeAndre Jordan.

And — much like when an unconscious Manny Pacquiao received a derisive meme treatment after being knocked out in a December fight — Internet jokesters were quick to delight in Knight's plight. To whit:

Roasting Knight was all good and fun. That incredible play will live on for time immemorial, much to Knight's eternal chagrin. But let's not get too carried way here, sports fans; Brandon Knight is still living a life the rest of us can only dream about. Internet columnist and former Cal basketball player Rod Benson perhaps summed the big-picture situation up best with this tweet:

He's gonna drive in a car we all wish we could to a home we all wish we lived in and probably sex a girl we all wish we had. #nextgame

Dunks

1. Blake Griffin on Kendrick Perkins

This dunk set the Internet aflame in January. The official NBA YouTube video already has more than 5 million views. The dunk prompted Perkins to call out LeBron James in the press for tweeting the epic slam.

2. LeBron James on John Lucas

The night before Griffin's monumental throw-down, James turned in a classic of his own. He cleared Bulls guard John Lucas to catch this backdoor alley-oop.

3. Dwyane Wade on Anderson Verejao

A couple years ago, before he and James joined forces on the Heat, Dwyane Wade completely overwhelmed James' then-teammate, Varejao. In the immortal words of commentator Reggie Miller, "Welcome to your Kodak moment, Anderson Verejao!"

4. Baron Davis on Andrei Kirilenko

This dunk will live forever in the hearts of Golden State Warriors fans. It came during the middle of the team's improbable "We Believe" playoff run in 2007. Davis' weird, belly-baring celebration, which earned him a technical foul, brings it up another notch.

5. Shaquille O'Neal on basketball hoop designers

This dunk isn't technically "on" anyone, but young Shaq pulling down an entire basketball support is epic enough to make any list. As the esteemed Bill Walton would say, "Throw it down, big man!"

6. Tom Chambers on Mark Jackson

Current Warriors coach Mark Jackson had a stellar playing career with several NBA teams, but he was on the receiving end of probably the greatest NBA dunk ever by a white guy.

7. Scottie Pippen on Patrick Ewing

8. Michael Jordan on Patrick Ewing

Pippen's Bulls teammate — some guy named Michael Jordan — also had a ruthless dunk over Ewing. He actually had a couple, but this one is the most savage of all.

9. John Starks on the Chicago Bulls

However, Knicks guard John Starks gave the high flying Bulls a taste of their own medicine in 1993 with this lefty flush. Lore has it that Starks caught Jordan on this one, but that's debatable, at best. Check the tape and decide for yourself.

10. Allen Iverson on Marcus Camby

Back in the '90s, when both still played for the teams that drafted them, tiny Allen Iverson was all like, "Marcus, this elevator goes to 10 and I'm dropping you off at 7."

11. Kevin Johnson on Hakeem Olajuwon

Johnson is currently the mayor of Sacramento, Calif., but back in 1994 the short point guard did this to Hakeem Olajuwon. How many politicians can include "dunked over a Hall of Fame center" on their resumes?

12. Vince Carter on Frederic Weis

We know Vince Carter's all-time classic isn't technically an NBA dunk, but it's so good we'll make an exception. Playing in the off-season for the U.S. at the 2000 Olympics, Carter cleared the 7-foot-2-inch Weis to throw it down.

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